Let’s cut to the chase – I’ve heard a lot of hype around this sequel, how good it is, how lovely it is, all that jazz. It got to the point, I thought there is no way the actual movie can deliver on that hype. I am glad I was wrong this time, as Paddington 2 has given me everything I wanted and more.

From a first glance, it doesn’t look that different from the first Paddington (2014, my review here) as everything you loved from that movie is back – the Brown family, the cheeriness, positive atmosphere, quirky characters, it’s all back. And yet, it does feel a bit different, as main part of the movie takes place someplace else entirely. More on that in my spoiler section. But also, Hugh Grant as the main villain (and no, I am not counting that as a spoiler, as that is obvious from the moment he steps on the screen) has been delightful and almost stole the movie for me. I think the biggest difference between the first movie and this one is that it goes all in with “you can find kindness in almost everybody” and the film manages to operate with that idea really well throughout, where if you buy into it, you will have a great time. Yes, at times, it might be a bit silly time, but it’s still a great one. With that being said…

Beware, SPOILERS are coming!

I found it ballsy to have the main part of the movie to be located in a prison, to watch this cute, little bear get arrested. Of course, as an adult, you know everything will be fine, but imagine watching this film from the kids perspective! That must have blown their minds, seeing their hero get falsely accused and jailed. But it works for the movie so well. Not only we get to see Paddington inspire everybody around him in the prison to be better, but we also get to see the neighbourhood with him at the start of the movie and without him and how big of an impact he’s got on his immediate surroundings. Think of It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), where George is shown the world had he not been born, except nobody needs to die here. That positive attitude and how infectious it can be might sound really cheesy at first, but think about it. We all have that one person in our life, where they ooze joy and good energy so much, it makes us happy by just being around them. At least I hope you have a person like that in your life, everybody deserves somebody like that.

Also, let’s talk about Hugh Grant for a second. He’s been kind of boxed up in these “bumbling, yet somehow charming British idiot, who almost always gets the girl at the end”. But in this movie, he’s not that at all, he’s actually hamming it up (100% that’s a phrase, don’t ever bother googling it) and enjoying every single second of it. And because of his pure enjoyment, because of him giving 100% to this role, you see his goofy, not bumbling side more clearly, where he’s not afraid to be the clown, to be really unapologetically silly and the movie is better for it. He’s definitely a big part of this film’s success and popularity. As much as I loved the first film, this one improves upon basically everything.

And sure, you can be cynical about it and if you don’t let yourself enjoy this fluffy, feel good movie, you can get savage, deconstruct it to pieces, how unrealistic or predictable this whole thing is, but you know what? Maybe the reason Paddington 2 got such glowing reviews, is the year it came out. In 2017, world started to look more divided than ever (not going to get political here, but you can’t deny the impact of Trump in the USA and in the UK, where I live, Brexit has been dominating everything and even now, 2021, it’s still a sore issue for plenty of people). And that makes me wonder, what if that is one of the reasons this movie hit people differently? What if this movie acted like the purest form of fluffy, cute, hopeful escapism we all want to cling to, for at least couple of hours? After all, isn’t it why we love cinema? To live in the world, where no matter what, everybody can be kind, if you show them some kindness and where the evil gets punished. Yeah, I didn’t expect to get as sappy, but here we are :-).

Overall, Paddington 2 has managed to do something almost unheard of (especially in these ages) – they have improved upon the first film, that was already really great movie on its own, by making the sequel slightly bit better in every aspect. Everything feels the same, and yet different, the characters grow, the world expands, but without loosing the magic. Where plenty of modern sequels go “bigger is always better” and often forget what made their first film so great, this one doesn’t. This one embraces it. If you are ever feeling down, and want to watch something, that pumps you up full of hope, watch both of these movies. They truly are fun for the entire family.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

Unlike many others, I didn’t grow up watching plenty of Disney movies. Most of even the “big ones” such as The Lion King (1994) or Beauty and the Beast (1991) I haven’t seen until I was much older than their target demo would be (think late teens, early 20’s). So is there any wonder, I wouldn’t have seen plenty of the other ones, often considered “mediocre” Disney movies, that were released from mid 90’s to early 2000’s, such as The Emperor’s New Groove? No, but now, because of Disney+, I am trying to fill my gaps when comes to “classic” movies and I know even these “mediocre” ones have their audience and now are much more beloved than they were when they came out. And with this film, I can see why, as I expected to have fun with it, but I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did.

The Emperor’s New Groove‘s biggest selling point was it knows exactly what it is. The movie is very much self-aware and knows, that it will be compared against the big boys, purely just by association, so they choose their own path right from the very beginning. The movie announces itself from very early on, so that you know you are in for a fun, short, sweet ride and it’s only up to you if you embrace it. I have and had a marvellous time with it.

The story couldn’t be any simpler, the royalty (or in this case, the emperor) is so out of touch and selfish, he needs to learn his lesson, what actually matters in life. Of course, there are forces of evil scheming against him and he will go through a journey, where at the end, he might learn his lesson. Your typical Disney movie, nothing you wouldn’t have seen done thousands time before. But here’s the difference – the movie knows what it is and has fun with it. I love movies that don’t take themselves too seriously, that can be a bit meta and this one nails it. It’s funny, it’s short and because of its length, it doesn’t even have time to get too boring, repetitive, or preachy to annoy you.

As with most animated movies, the voice casting here is great. I would like to highlight two names – John Goodman and Patrick Warburton. I think they both can be summed up with one word – underrated. John Goodman has been acting pretty consistently throughout his life and I feel like he doesn’t get the credit he’s due. Even in this movie, his voice adds the necessary gravitas to his character Pacha, where he needs to be the straight guy to David Spade‘s character, (who is really funny in this movie) otherwise they wouldn’t work as well, and in return, the movie wouldn’t work, as this whole film depends on how much you like the chemistry between the main characters. Really well done work by John and something different than what you’d usually see (or hear) in your typical animated performance. When comes to Patrick Warburton, his Kronk is the loveable idiot, who stole the movie for me, no questions asked. But also, how good is he? I feel like with his impressive resume, where he voices characters left, right and centre and has been part of a few animated shows, it feels like he doesn’t get the proper amount of recognition for all the work he puts in. And he always makes the characters funny, no matter who they are. The fact his voice is really unique and unmistakable also helps. Really great performance in this film and as I said earlier, easily my favourite character.

Because The Emperor’s New Groove knows what it is, it makes it so much easier to love and from all the Disney movies of this era I have seen so far, this one is my favourite by far. Yes, it’s not in the same league as other Disney classics, it doesn’t have the depth they might have, or one particular scene you’d remember, but it’s just really fun ride to be on. To an extent, this is how I would imagine improv version of Disney movie, as the humour feels a lot like improv comedy. Which is not a bad thing at all, as I love me some improv!

Overall, when I started this movie, I expected something fun, sweet and short. What I got what something way funnier, sweeter and it hit me exactly in my funny bone, where I really appreciated the film on its own. As part of Disney’s huge catalogue, it’s probably mediocre, but on its own, this movie has a great deal of charm, fun and sometimes, that’s all you need, especially from an animated movie. Definitely something I will be more than happy to re-watch.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

The name Orson Welles definitely stands out even now, almost 40 years after his death. And there is a reason for that, as he made one of the most known, celebrated, influential movies of all time, Citizen Kane (1941). That is the movie he’s known for, even if you are talking to somebody, who isn’t really a movie lover, chances are they have heard of that movie and his name with it. For cinephiles, he’s also known for Touch of Evil (1958, if you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favour and get that watched) or possibly something like The Trial (1962, my review here) which is more experimental kind of a movie. But I don’t think people even the ones who’d consider themselves cinephiles, would have listed The Stranger as one of his movies instantly and it would have been a shame, as it still holds up. At least when comes to building suspense.

This movie is pretty simple cat and mouse game, where you know pretty much from the very start, who’s the bad guy and who is the good guy. The movie is more about the bad guy (played by Orson himself) and his pretty justified paranoia. As even though he tried to erase his past, it caught up with him and this is something this film does really well – you can feel the imaginary noose around his neck getting tighter by a minute.

I also love the way Orson shoots his movies. That is why he is still considered as one of the most influential filmmakers of all time, because his films have always had something extra, something special, you just wouldn’t see in other movies at that time. There is always some either unbroken long take, different angle, or the camera going through a window. Things, we consider normal and not as effective today, as we’ve seen them done so much, we don’t think of those camera tricks as special anymore. But back then, he was really trying to push his craft as much as he could and I always admire people like that.

This might be a bit controversial to say, but I am not sure whether he was such a great actor, especially in this movie. Don’t get me wrong, I think he’s alright, he’s by no means bad, but if there is one thing about The Stranger I didn’t really care for, was him in the title role. I do understand he was “jack of all trades”, but I do think sometimes him being in the centre of the story and his face being so well known… it almost felt distracting in a way. Who I liked was Loretta Young. Not only she was stunning, but she was great in her role and her commitment to performing quite dangerous stunt herself towards the end of a movie, where she’s being lifted up to a tower in about 15 meters from the ground without any safety gear, as the cable they tried to use was visible in every take… that takes some balls. Check out the trivia section on IMDb for yourself, but of course, it contains spoilers, so just a heads up.

Overall, I would recommend The Stranger, as I found it surprisingly gripping, even after all those years passed and we have seen elements of story like this done or copied at least hundred times (spy or ex-spy with terrible past, trying to live/hide someplace quiet, but his past always catches up with him). I don’t even know whether this would be considered original, or whether Orson got inspired from some other movie, but I don’t think it matters as much. If he wasn’t “the first”, he definitely was one of the firsts, and I am convinced now, that I need to fill up my gaps when comes to movies he directed. So far, I’ve only seen 4 movies of his and I liked them all, so he might be my cup of hot cocoa.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

What started as a really great, one-off action movie (Olympus Has Fallen, 2013) has somehow evolved (does a movie evolve, if neither sequels are as good as the original? Discuss.) into a trilogy, that get’s progressively more boring with each new instalment. Angel Has Fallen is a mere shadow of what 6 years ago was really enjoyable, kick-ass movie with some surprisingly great action sequences (I still remember, how effective was the scene, where they get into the White House, capturing the president). From this movie, I think the last action sequence on the halfway was… alright…? But everything around it was just so… predictable and boring, you really hope nothing will “fall” anymore, so Gerard Butler doesn’t have to suit up for a fourth instalment, where he would have to fight… maybe aliens, or COVID-19, (or get this, aliens infected WITH COVID-19! Let’s make it a super-mega-ultra threat!) as I am sure by now, he killed pretty much everybody else, who ever threatened the government of USA.

This movie could have easily been named “Everything is So Painfully Obvious: The Movie” as you can predict without a single moment of hesitation where everything (story, characters) is going. You can tell who’s the bad guy literally within a few seconds of their screen time, you can tell what happens next before it happens with Gerard’s character… and for the most time, the action is your stereotypical “it’s alright” type, where it’s not horrible, but there is nothing, that would stand out. Again, maybe the very last set piece, but even that it isn’t something, that would have justified not trying to come up with anything original story-wise. Every turn this movie makes, you have seen done better, some place else. And I understand, that expecting some level of originality from a third instalment of something, that I still don’t understand how it became a trilogy in the first place, it’s as silly as listening to a flat-earther explaining why Earth is flat, but still, you’d expect that the film would at least throw you a bone…?

But not this one. So it hits every single beat – the main hero hides a sickness from everyone (family, friends, president of the United States, you know, the usual) that will limit him in some minor scenes, but you can bet most of your crypto, that once he’s needed, he will fight like a 20 year old, who drank 10 Red Bulls at once. And that part of the story, when everybody thinks he’s betrayed everyone? He will prove, he didn’t do it and all those crimes he’s committed, while trying to prove his innocence? Totally forgotten, don’t you worry about that. We know, you had to do them, in order to clear your name.

Angel Has Fallen has only thing going for it and that’s the fact it’s not overly long and even though nothing stands out, nothing really drags on. The movie itself actually flows pretty well, so even though you are kind of annoyed, at how predictable everything is, you are not bored and the movie has the decency to have good enough cast to get you through it too. I am not quite sure, whether Piper Perabo replacing Radha Mitchell (who played Gerard’s girlfriend/wife in the first two movies) is good or bad, but to be honest, these movies don’t really give that character anything to do anyway, so I am guessing it doesn’t really matter who plays it? My guess would be most people didn’t even realise that’s not the same actress (which again, falls on this franchise, as they never have given her any agency besides being Gerard’s girlfriend, who becomes his wife) but she’s fine in this film. The same goes for Lance Reddick or Danny Huston, bot decent enough actors, who have little to do here, as it’s all about Gerard’s character kicking all kind of ass. Which is not a bad idea in theory, but in practice, when this is his (counts furiously) 76th movie with him pretty much playing the same character, it starts to get a bit monotone.

The only reason my rating is still fairly high (for what is arguably just an average action movie) is the fact that I was never bored while watching. Sure, was I surprised by anything? No. But was the movie sluggish, where I’d felt the movie’s length? Also no. That surprised me, to be perfectly honest, that even though you’d need a microscope to find a speck of original idea in this film, I was never bored. Yeah, don’t how that works either.

Overall, Angel Has Fallen is as average of a movie as it gets. What puts it slightly above the mediocrity is the casting of enough decent people and the fact you are not counting down seconds for the movie to be over. I mean, you might, but I definitely wasn’t. That being said, will I be in any kind of rush to re-watch it? Absolutely not.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

I don’t know what was more disturbing – watching this movie, or knowing that it’s is based on reality. Compliance is one of those movies, that you watch and it stays with you for a while. It’s a brilliant example of how simple movie can be. You don’t need CGI, multiple locations, extra big budget, you just need a few decent enough actors and story, that grips you and won’t let go until the very end.

The idea behind this movie has been around for a few decades. If you give (extend) power to someone, where they believe they are not “responsible” for their actions, as they are just following orders by authority figure, are they still responsible for the final outcome? Even though they are the ones executing everything, they are just following orders. Because that is what you should do, right? And what happens when the authority figure starts asking you to take it one step further, when is it enough? When will you say “I am not doing that”? That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it? We are all heroes in our own stories/lives, we all would like to think “I wouldn’t do that”, but how can we know for sure, unless we are put into that position, where this supposed authority figure is telling us we need to do it, or else…? Would we truly do what we believe is right, or just blindly follow the orders, hoping we are somehow absolved of all responsibility?

Compliance is definitely a movie that will make you feel a lot of ways. It will also make you think about how would you deal with this situation and but most importantly, it makes you doubt everything and yourself and I think that’s a good thing. It’s important to have movies, that can challenge our views, that can make us think about uncomfortable topics. Craig Zobel, director of this movie and the other controversial movie, The Hunt (2020, my review here) definitely seems to be one of those, who isn’t afraid to ask uncomfortable questions. And even though his movies always seem tough to watch and there is always something, that’s (for me) missing or would “blow me away”, his movies are definitely worth it. If you can stomach watching films, that can make you uncomfortable.

There are two main stars of this film – Ann Dowd and Dreama Walker. And I honestly can’t say who’s the star, or who “stole” the movie for herself, as both are great in their own right. Ann is amazing as the manager, who’s just trying to do what she believes will help everybody and ultimately, what she believes is right. She never meant to harm anyone, she was just following orders. Dreama’s role was (obviously) much different, as she’s the victim, and it was heart-breaking seeing her character get slowly, piece by piece, humiliated. Both of these ladies played their roles so well, you feel sorry for both of them at the end, albeit in different way. You feel sorry for Ann’s character, as you can see why she would do, what she did, but at the same time you feel really sorry for Dreama’s character, as nobody should be treated like that, no matter the charges.

The most uncomfortable thing about Compliance is the “simple” fact that not only the situation depicted in the movie actually happened in real life (according to the movie’s closing credits, across 30 states in USA), but it can very well happen again. You’d think people nowadays would have been smarter then to fall for schemes like that, but think about how often you see/hear about people, who still click on different conspiracy theories online, how fast they are to share something, they never bothered to fact-check. And now imagine something like that happening, except maybe it’s over the Internet, not over the phone…? Where somebody doesn’t bother to check whether they are talking to a police officer, and just go along with it… For me, that’s the chilling part about this – even though I’d hope something like this would never happen again, I am 100% convinced it will, as unfortunately, “pranks” (if you can even call something like that a prank) and edginess can often cloud people’s minds. Everybody wants to have their 15 seconds of fame, but at what cost…?

Overall, Compliance is worth watching, if you are fine with being quite uncomfortable for 90 minutes. If you are looking for a simple, yet effective movie, that knows what it wants to communicate and does it quite well, look no further, but brace yourself for something, that you don’t get to see too often. For better, or worse.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke